“Dick Rowland Image”
”Shoots (News, Views and Quotes)”
– Movin’ Juice: Making Electricity Transmission More Competitive
The recent blackouts in the Midwest and Northeast shed light to the
flaws in the electricity transmission grid. Recommendations to remedy
this situation include building and upgrading transmission, constructing
generation facilities closer to population centers, and reducing demand
for transmission services.
– Transportation Costs and The American Dream
Given a choice between automobiles and heavily subsidized transit
systems, the vast majority of people recognize that autos are faster,
less expensive, more convenient, and more productive than transit.
Above articles are quoted from Reason Foundation, Reason Alert 9/5/03
https://www.rppi.org
”Roots (Food for Thought)”
– A Decade of Tabor
By Fred Holden
“Its preferred interpretation shall reasonably restrain most the growth
of government.”
– Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, TABOR Amendment: Colorado Constitution,
Article X-Revenue, Section 20
TABOR (the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights) is a tax-and-spending limitation,
constitutional amendment. TABOR was passed in 1992 by the voters, and is
contained in Article X, Section 20, of the Colorado Constitution.
TABOR’s stated mission is to “reasonably restrain most the growth of
government.” It allows only those tax rate increases approved by voters;
while fees are not directly restricted, state government spending is
limited to growth of Colorado’s population-plus-inflation in the prior
year.
Colorado has in TABOR the strictest tax-and-spending limitation of the
50 states. This Issue Paper analyzes TABOR’s effect on Colorado,
contrasting taxing and spending before and after enactment of TABOR.
Ten fiscal years have passed since 1992; this Issue Paper compares ten
years of TABOR performance to the preceding ten years. Colorado state
documents-Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) and “Colorado
Economic Perspective” (Office of State Planning and Budgeting)-provide
the data.
In the decade before TABOR, Colorado state revenues and outlays
(spending) grew well over twice the population-plus-inflation growth
(See Fig. 1). With TABOR, all three were very close, indicating TABOR
had significantly restrained and controlled Colorado government growth.
Though TABOR was part of the “go-go nineties,” its measured effects on
government and non-government employment and distribution were quite
impressive (See Fig. 2). Pre-TABOR, government jobs grew slightly more
than business or total employment. After TABOR, business job growth
nearly doubled that of government job growth.
The TABOR surplus rebate mechanism returned to taxpayers some $3.25
billion over five years, fiscal 1997 to 2001, amounting to about $800
per capita-$3,200 for an average family of four.
TABOR is a success. It passed its own test to reasonably contain growth
of Colorado government, taxing and spending.
Above article is quoted from The Independence Institute https://www.i2i.org
”Evergreen (Today’s Quote)”
“Failure to sign the no-new-taxes pledge is the hole in the bottom of
the Arnold Schwarzenegger boat. Schwarzenegger is not Ronald Reagan.
Without the pledge, he’s not the anti-tax candidate.” –Americans for
Tax Reform president Grover Norquist, 08/26/03
”’Edited by Richard O. Rowland, president of Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, 1314 S. King Street, Suite 1163, Honolulu, HI 96814. Phone/fax is 808-591-9193, cell phone is 808-864-1776. Send him an email at:”’ mailto:grassroot@hawaii.rr.com ”’See the Web site at:”’ https://www.grassrootinstitute.org/